Toby Knapp - The Campaign |
Published March 29 2010
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The Campaign* |
| Genre | Guitar shredding |
D. Sternberg/J. Gruslin
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 9 |
T. Cline/A. Csihar
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Vocals
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| Runningtime | 43 Min. |
Toby Knapp
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Guitar
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| Label | Shredguy Records |
Toby Knapp
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Bass
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| Release | 22 January 2010 |
Toby Knapp/Andy Jones
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Drums
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| Country | USA |
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Keyboard
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| Similar artists | Rob Johnson | ||
Toby Knapp is quite a new but really impressive shredder. His 2008 album "Misanthropy Divine" is in my collection and it is a really good shredding album, slightly lacking on the production side, but still a really good and consistent album. The opening title-track of this new release is meant to set the pace and direction of the record. It's a heavy, really cool instrumental track that catches my attention immediately. Great stuff indeed. After this things, unfortunately, goes in the wrong direction.
The track "Conspire" is a more classic, and not as interesting, power metal number with some slightly weak vocals from Dean Sternberg (he did better on "Misanthropy Divine"). It does have its great moments, but the vocals kinda kill it a bit for me. After this the level suddenly increases (what happened to the mastering, boys?). Cool heavy riffing, indeed, double bass-drums and some really powerful stuff going on, almost a bit in the vein of Nevermore. Great track!
But what the hell happens in the next track should be cause for stoning. What the hell are those horrible growling "vocals" courtesy of Gruslin doing there??? I can take growling if they are well executed and add something to the track, which is definitely not the case here. This totally kills it for me, even though I can't say I like the track itself either. "Telekinesis" is another heavy instrumental rocker, ok, but not in league with the opener. In "Wicked" the production suddenly changed with the snare sounding like a cookie jar and vocalist Tom Cline, who sings well, adds some almost AOR overtone to the chorus. Strange harmonies in this one.
In "Reanimation" there's another dose of horrible growling vocals from Attila. What the hell was he thinking? Furthermore, blast beats don't go well with nice guitar harmonies. Had to skip this one. "Plutonium Race" showcases more of Knapp's killer guitar playing, this one a bit more Malmsteen-influenced. The album finishes with "Lack Of Inspiration", again with best singer on the album, Sternberg, who does a better job on this one. This is a pretty decent track, one of the best on the album.
I must say I've heard better from Knapp. This feels more
like a collection of unreleased demos. I also think Shredguy Records,
for whom I have the greatest respect, has to put a bit more pressure
on the artists to deliver a better produced product.
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Performance
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Originality
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Production
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Vocals
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Songwriting
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7 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
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Summary
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5 chalices of 10 - Stark |
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